Collapsible boat.



J. c HO'SECK. COLLAPSIBLE BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30,1917.

1 ,QQO, 978 Patented Sept. 25, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

1. c. HdsEcK.

COLLAPSIBLE BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30. 1911.

1,240,978. Patented Sept. 25, 1917. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JOHAN CHRISTIAAN HOSEQK, 0F s-GRAVENHAGE, NETHERLANDS.

COLLAPSIBLE BOAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 25, ieia.

Application filed. April 30, 1917. Serial No. 165,600.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHAN GHRISTIAAN HOSECK, a subject of the Queen ofthe Netherlands, residing at s-Gravenhage, Netherlands, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Collapsible Boats, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to a collapsible boat which is composed of a numberof transversely arranged frames over which is stretched a covering orskin of watertight material, a loose keel and two gunwales beingprovided to which the frames can be secured, care being taken that thelatter are retained at the desired distance apart. Furthermore, a stemis provided which is also designed to be collapsed or folded. Theattachment of the frames to the keel and to the gunwales is effected bymeans of hooks arranged on the frames in such a manner that thosedesigned for receiving the keel are arranged with their openingsdirected to the right and left hand alternately, while the openings ofthe hooks which are designed to secure the gunwales are directedalternately above and below.

By reason of this construction the vessel when extended for usepossesses a high degree of strength and any one-sided load isdistributed over a number of the frames.

As the keel and the gunwales are secured to the foremost frame by meansof eyes instead of hooks and in such a manner that their front ends canslide in the said eyes, while the hooks of the remaining frames canslide somewhat lengthwise of the keel and the gunwales, the cover can betightly stretched by pulling on the stern-post and secured by screws tothe two gunwales and to the keel. By this means the considerableadvantage is obtained that, apart from the subsequent stretching of thecover which gives somewhat with time, in the event of the coveringbecoming in any way damaged or a leak being formed, the two framessituated on either side of the leak can be clamped together, whereby thelatter is closed or can be bound up. The whole can then be againstretched so that'the vessel, although somewhat shorter, is stillserviceable.

The bow is formed of two hinged bow rails which extend forward in aninclined direction, their front ends having a joint to which the stem issecured. On the underside of the foremost frame there is provided ajoint arranged inside the cover or skin and to which the inner keel isattached, the said inner keel forming, when the boat is extended, acontinuation of the outer keel and being secured at its front end to thelower end of the stem by means of a clamping device.

Referring to the drawings, which form part of this specification:-

Figure 1 is a side view of the sectional boat with the outer coverremoved.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the boat with the cover removed. I

gig. 3 is a front view of the middle frame, an

Fig. 4 is a view of one of the center frames.

Fig. 5 is a view of the stern frame.

Iiig. 6 is a view of the foremost frame, anc

Fig. 7 is a view of the boat in a partially collapsed condition.

The boat frame consists of a number of transverse frames 1, 2, etc., oftwo gunwales 3 and of a keel 4. The gunwales 3 are divided at thecenter, and the two halves are secured together by means of the joint 5.The keel 4 is also divided and secured by means of a similar connection6. The bow is built up of two rails 10 which are Socured by means ofjoints 17 to the foremost frame 7. The two rails 10 extend forward at aninclination to one another and are connected together at the outer endby means of a link 14 to which the stem 11 is pivotally secured. At thebottom of the foremost frame 7 there is provided a joint 12 to which afront keel 13 is attached, the front of this keel 13 being furnishedwith a clamping device 15 by means of which the connection between thesaid front keel 13 and the stem 11 is effected.

The connection of the frames, such as 1 and 2, with the gunwales 3' isefiected by means of hooks 19 and 20 (see Figs. 3 and 1) which are soarranged that their openings 3 are alternately directed upward anddownward. As is obvious from the drawing the opening of the hook 19, forexample, is directed downward, while that of the hook 20 is directedupward. In the same manner the keel 4 is secured to the transverseframes, hooks 18 and 21 being employed for the purpose, the open sidesof which are directed alternately to the left and to the right. Theforemost frame 7 (see Fig. 6) is, how ever, furnished with eyes 24instead of with hooks, into which eyes the gunwales 3 can be inserted.These eyes are closed at the front so that the gunwales 3 when in sertedtherein cannot move farther forward. The hooks 19 and 20 are moreover somade that the gunwales 3 can lie loosely in them. In a similar way thekeel 4 is secured to the foremost frame 7 by means of a closed eye, seeFig. 1.

The stern post 16 (see Fig. 5) is furnished with eyes 22 instead of withhooks and through these eyes the gunwales 3 can be passed. They can. besecured in place by means of screws 8. For the purpose of securing thekeel 4 an eye 23 is also made use of in which the said keel can slideand in which it can be fixed by means of a screw 9, as shown in Fig. 5.The stern frame 16 is provided at its upper part with a connecting railwhich serves both for strengthening the said frame and for securing thecover.

If desired, the middle frame may be provided with a strengthening strut27 (see Fig. 3). Furthermore, a seat 28 composed of a number, preferablytwo, of slats can be provided, the bottom slats being so arranged thatthey can be collapsed to one piece.

The whole vessel is inclosed in a covering or skin of waterproofmaterial preferably made in one piece, the said covering being appliedon the outside of the frames 1, 2, etc. The hooks 18, 19, 20, and 21are, similarly to the eyes 22, 23 and 24, arranged on the outside of thecover. The connection of the cover is effected by means of small boltsor screws in the frames. The gunwales 3 and the keel 1 are, therefore,not connected to the cover.

The cover is secured to the bow only at the rails 10, while the stem 11and the front keel 13 are both situated inside the cover so that thispart forms a kind of sack. This construction, therefore, enables thecover to be put in tension. In this case the screws 8 and 9 are loosenedand the stern post is drawn as far as possible to the rear when thehooks 18, 19, 20 and 21 can slide relatively to the gunwales 3 and thekeel 4, after which the screws 8 and 9 can be again tightened. It is,further possible to maintain the boat in a condition ready for use ifthe cover or skin is damaged in any way. In this case if, for example,damage has occurred between the frames 1 and 2 the screws 8 and 9 areloosened, the frames 1 and 2 pushed together and secured in anyconvenient way. The skin or cover which would then hang loosely caneasily be clamped together, or the latter can be bound up, after whichthe skin is again stretched and the screws 8 and 9 tightened. The boatis then,

although somewhat shorter to an extent equal to the distancebetween twoadjacent frames, still quite seaworthy.

The collapsing of the vessel is effected i the following way :After theboat has been brought to land the seat 28 is removed and folded and thescrews 8 and 9 loosened. The gunwales 3 and 4 are then moved some, whatbackward so as to be disengaged from the eyes of the foremost frame 7The hooks 19, 20, etc., are then removed from the gunwales 3, whilethe'hooks 18, 21, etc.. are disengaged from the keel 1. When all thesehooks have been disengaged the gunwales 3 can be drawn from the eyes 22of the stern post 16 and can be folded together on the joints 5. Thekeel 41 is then drawn from the eyes 23 and folded on the joint'6.Instead of the joint connections 5 and 6 sockets can be made use of by.means of which the halves of the gunwales and those of the keel can besecured together. The clamp 15 of the front keel 13 is then loosened,the stem 11 turned into a horizontal position and the rails 10 thenturned downward around the joint 17. All the frames can now be placedadjacent to one another as shown in Fig. 7. The skin or cover isprovided on the upper side of the stern frame with a projecting portion25 to which the strap 26 is secured.

If, now, the projecting portion 25 is placed over the collapsed boat theupper side of the whole is completely closed and the strap 26 can besecured to the front of the boat. The space which is still left betweenthe frames can be used for storage purposes.

In order to put the boat into condition for use the above operations areconducted in the reverse order. The strap 26 is first loosened, the boatextended as far as possible, the extended gunwales 3 and the keellinserted into the eyes of the stern frame, the front ends thereof inthe eyes of the foremost frame 7 and the said gunwales and the keel thensecured by means of the hooks 18, 19, 20 and 21, etc. When all the hooksare engaged the bow rails 10 are turned up and the stem 11 and also thefront keel 13 are turned downward and the latter secured by means of theclamp 15. The stern post 16 is then pressed backward as far as possibleand the screws 8 and 9 tightened. Lastly the seat 28 is placed in thevessel and the whole is ready for use. When desired a second skin ofwaterproof material can be fitted in the vessel over the insides of theframes so that a watertight space is left between the inner and outerskins or walls.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A collapsible boat comprising in combination a number of transverseframes, a skin or cover of watertight material applied over the saidframes, locking devices at the upper ends of the frames, gunwalesinterlocking with the said locking devices, said locking devices beinglongitudinally adjustable with respect to the gunwales, locking deviceson the undersides of the frames and a keel designed to engage with thesaid locking devices, said last-named locking devices beinglongitudinally adjustable with respect to the keel, substantially ashereinbefore described.

2. A collapsible boat comprising in combination a number of transverseframes, a skin or cover of watertight material applied thereto, hooksattached to the upper ends of the frames and having their openingsdirected alternately upward and downward, gunwales which engage with thesaid hooks, hooks secured to the undersides of the frames and theopenings of which are directed alternately to the left and to the rightand a keel engaging with the said hooks, substantially as hereinbeforedescribed.

3. A collapsible boat comprising in com.- bination a number oftransverse frames, a skin or cover of watertight material appliedthereto, locking devices upon the upper ends and the undersides of thetransverse frames, gunwales engaging with the upper locking devices anda keel engaging with the bottom locking devices, the said keel and thegunwales abutting against the foremost frame and engaging with play inthe locking devices of the remaining frames and engaging eyes on thestern frame, substantially as hereinbefore described.

4:. A collapsible boat comprising in combination a number of transverseframes having locking devices at their upper ends and undersides,gunwales engaging the upper locking devices, a keel engaging the lowerdevices, a bow composed of a pair of inclined rails hinged to theforemost frame and jointed at their front ends to the stem and a frontkeel jointed to the underside of the foremost frame and clamped to thelower part of the stem, substantially as hereinbefore described.

5. A collapsible boat comprising in combination a number of transverseframes, gunwales and a keel detachably connected to locking devices atthe upper ends and undersides thereof respectively and a skin or coverof watertight material applied to the said transverse frames and havingat the top of the stern frame a projecting portion which covers theinner space of the boat when the latter is collapsed, substantially ashereinbefore described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

J OHAN GHRISTIAAN HOSECK.

Witnesses:

J. M. N. DOLE, N. J. L. WINENENLY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, I). O."

